Capcom has supplied game site Next Generation with a Q&A which hopefully clear up some of the confusion (and heartbreak) regarding Clover Studio's shuttering. Capcom states that the subsidiary was liquidated because it would be better to have all the R&D resources in a single company. The fifteen staff members still working in Clover Studio will be transfered to Capcom R&D. Moreover, all the Clover copyrights will revert to Capcom.

Okay. But, what about Clover game designer Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil creator)? And Okami producer Atsushi Inaba? Here's an excerpt from the Capcom questionnaire:

Q: We've heard that the famous creators such as [Resident Evil creator] Mr. [Shinji] Mikami, [Okami producer] Mr. [Atsushi] Inaba and [Devil May Cry director] Mr. [Hideki] Kamiya have quit, is this true? Why didn't they come back to Capcom?

A: Mr. Mikami had already left Capcom in November 2005 but signed on a separate contract with us. Mr. Inaba and Mr. Kamiya have also left Capcom in June and July of this year respectively. Naturally, we had hoped that Mr. Inaba and Mr. Kamiya to come back to us, however, both of them told us that they wanted a new challenge at a new environment. As far as Capcom's concerned, now all the resources should be used more effectively and more efficiently since they are centralized.

Q: Can you tell us more about Mr. Inaba and Mr. Kamiya? We've heard that they are setting up a new company.

A: Since they are not our employees any longer, we can't answer this question.

Q: Don't you think of Mr. Mikami's departure as a huge loss? Who's going to produce Resident Evil series from now on?

A: We have a signed contract with Mr. Mikami separately. In any case, we have many creators that have worked on Resident Evil series titles and have enough knowledge of the series. Mr. Mikami will also work in our R&D. By the way, Mr. Takeuchi is producing Resident Evil 5 (he's worked on the original Resident Evil).

So, if the Clover game rights and the Clover Studio employees are reverting to Capcom, that means that it's just Inaba and Mikami who are severing relations with Capcom. Right? Brian Ashcraft

Capcom Q&A [Next-Gen]